Arizona

Arizona — a beer can full of tea, designed on a kitchen table.
 

Don Vultaggio and John Ferolito had spent twenty years distributing beer around Brooklyn before they noticed what Snapple was doing with iced tea. Their advantage was not a recipe. It was knowing exactly what a can costs and how it moves. When they launched in 1992, they put their tea in a tallboy — the tall 23-ounce format used for cheap beer — and priced it at the same 99 cents Snapple was charging for sixteen ounces. On a shelf, their can physically towered over the competition at the same money. The decision came straight out of the beer trade.
 

The name was invented outright. Neither founder had any connection to Arizona; Vultaggio had never travelled west of the Mississippi. He chose the word because in 1992 it suggested heat, distance and open country — it sounded, as he put it, like thirst. They were shipping a cold drink out of a warehouse in Brooklyn.
 

The artwork came from his wife. Ilene Vultaggio designed the first can from the Southwestern zigzag pattern on the water cooler in their kitchen. When the green tea followed, she took the cherry blossom from her own perfume bottle and their son's colouring books. That design is still on the can today. Arizona has never run a serious advertising campaign, because it never needed one — the packaging did the work, in corner shops and bodegas, one crowded chiller at a time.
 

Sweet and Glory stocks Arizona wholesale for UK retailers.
 

The Arizona Range
 

The range divides into four groups. The iced teas are the foundation, led by the Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey in its cherry-blossom can, which remains the brand's biggest seller worldwide. Alongside them sit the fruit drinks, which are sweeter and bolder; the lemonades; and a smaller speciality tier covering soda-style flavours and energy drinks.
 

Three formats run across the range: the 650ml Big Can that made the brand, 500ml cans, and resealable 500ml PET bottles that suit fridges and grab-and-go. Individual flavours rotate with each shipment and the range is large, so it is worth checking the current range for what is in stock now.
 

Why Stock Arizona?
 

Arizona sells on sight. The cans are large, loud and unlike anything else in a British chiller, which means they earn attention without any support from a shelf-edge label or a promotion. That was the founders' entire strategy and it transfers intact to a UK fixture.
 

Customers also tend to arrive with a flavour already in mind. Arizona buyers are unusually loyal to a specific variety rather than to the brand in general, which makes stocking a spread more valuable than stocking depth in one line — someone who wants Mucho Mango will not settle for peach tea. The three formats then let the same brand work in different places: Big Cans in an American drinks section, PET bottles in a chiller or meal deal, 500ml cans wherever space is tight. It sells year round rather than only in summer, which is unusual for a cold drink.
 

For the full flavour guide, the history and the story behind the 99-cent price, read our complete guide to Arizona Iced Tea.
 

Frequently Asked Questions
 

Why is it called Arizona if it comes from Brooklyn?
 

Because the name was chosen for how it sounded rather than where anything came from. Don Vultaggio picked it in 1992 despite never having been to the state — he had not travelled west of the Mississippi at all. He wanted a word that suggested heat and open country, and the Southwestern artwork was built to match the name rather than the other way round.
 

Who designed the Arizona cans?
 

Ilene Vultaggio, the founder's wife, not an agency. The first design came from the pattern on the water cooler in their kitchen, and the cherry blossom on the green tea can came from her perfume bottle and their son's colouring books. The company has relied on that packaging instead of advertising ever since.
 

What is Arizona's best-selling flavour?
 

Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey, in the cherry-blossom can. It is the brand's flagship worldwide and consistently the strongest performer in an imported drinks display, so it is the sensible line to stock first if you are starting with one.
 

Where can I buy Arizona wholesale in the UK?
 

Sweet and Glory supplies Arizona wholesale across the UK with no minimum order, dispatched from our Manchester warehouse.
 

What is the minimum order for Arizona wholesale?
 

There is no minimum order. The first parcel is free on orders over £150 ex VAT, with additional boxes charged at £7.10 each. Pallet delivery is free over £650 ex VAT. Everything is dispatched from our Manchester warehouse.